Air France Plans New Airline for Long-haul Flights to Asia and the Middle East

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Talia Avakian

November 03, 2016

Air France-KLM is launching a new long-haul airline to give customers access to routes it had previously canceled, as well as access to new routes, starting in late 2017.

The exact routes and fares have not yet been announced, but the airline plans to have 10 long-haul aircrafts in operation by 2020.

The move comes in an effort to operate in “ultra competitive markets” like Asia, where the airline previously cut back due to competition costs. Air France also wants to compete with Gulf airlines. The new airline will include economy and business class flights with amenities like lie-flat seats, according to Reuters.

“This new company will propose a simple, modern and innovative offer, whose positioning will not be low cost,” the company said in a statement. “It will offer customers business and leisure destinations with standards comparable to those of Air France in terms of product quality and professionalism of the crews.”